


The Better to Love You With

by c00kie



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Multi, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:28:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5380343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c00kie/pseuds/c00kie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leslie battles many monsters on her journey to find true love. Or the one where a trip to a haunted house turns into a night Leslie will never forget. (Summary may change.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little nervous about posting this, for a variety of reasons, so if you like it and wish to see more, please let me know! 
> 
> And for those of you who don’t know what Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics are, you can google if if you want, but this is my own personal take on it, so please do not let the internet scare you away! 
> 
> Thanks to Ash, for the beta and encouragement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been revised since its original posting.

"I don't like this," Leslie says as she walks with Ann through the darkness, their hands interlaced so they won't lose each other. Leslie hears screaming ahead.

"There's nothing to be scared of," Ann assures her.

“Ann, we’re walking through a haunted house, I’m pretty sure being scared is the idea.” Nothing has jumped out at them yet but it’s only a matter of time. “Besides, I’m not scared. I just don’t like walking in the dark. Would it kill this place to get some light bulbs?”

A hand grips her shoulder and she tenses, but not out of fear. "Come on, don't be such a dweeb."

Leslie rolls her eyes. When Ann asked Leslie if she wanted to go to a haunted house with her, she failed to mention her boyfriend would be coming too.

“Mark,” Ann’s voice is full of warning. Leslie drops her hand and pushes ahead to get away from the impending argument. She'd rather get lost then have to listen to Ann demanding Mark apologize. He will, but he won't mean it. Mark belongs to that special group of alpha who believe the world revolves around them and omegas like Leslie and betas like Ann should bow down to them.

She'd liked him the first semester of freshman year, but it only took one disastrous first kiss for her to realize Mark wasn't the one for her. Everything about him, from his scent to the way touched her, was repulsive.

Leslie's pretty sure he still resents being pushed away from an omega. Her guess is confirmed when she hears, “Why did we even invite her to come along, anyway."

The zombie jumps out in front of her, claiming he wants her brains. She reacts without thinking, hitting the zombie square in the nose with her fist. He doesn’t fall, but he stumbles a bit, his back hitting the wall. He also does an amazing zombie impression while he’s in pain.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” she says. She can't see his face, but she’s pretty sure from the sound of his groans that she recognizes his voice.

"You know you're not supposed to punch the monsters, Knope-" Mark says, making Ann laugh. It stings, but she lets it go.

That is, until Ann says, "Yeah, I should have known you couldn't handle this."

"I'm not scared," Leslie snaps, feeling instantly sorry for it. There's nothing she hates more than fighting with Ann, but she has a tendency to adopt the personality of the guy she's dating. In this case, that personality is a jerk. She's not sure if that's a beta thing or an Ann thing. The zombie groans though, reminding Leslie she has more important things to worry about.

She turns back to the zombie. “I’m so sorry, but really it’s your fault you just jumped out of nowhere.”

“Leslie, that’s his job,” Ann says.

The lights turn on.

"Come on!"

"What's the big deal?"

"Fuck you guys!"

“Well you did it, Leslie, you got lights.”

Leslie ignores Mark, her focus on the zombie as he holds his nose. His face is covered in makeup and what she prays is mostly fake blood, but she would recognize that jaw anywhere.

Ben Wyatt: RA of the floor above hers and star of most of Leslie's late night fantasies.

Of all the faces she could have punched, it had to be his. She says she's sorry again, just to make sure he doesn't think badly of her. She would much rather be off his radar than on it as a crazy, violent nutball.

"Hey, Ben, is that you?"

Ben glances up at Mark and raises the hand not holding his nose. "Yeah. Hey."

"I didn't know you worked here."

Unlike most of the alphas at Pawnee University, Ben's never seemed like the kind who looks down on omegas. She's pretty sure his ex boyfriend's an omega. The way Mark slaps his hand against Ben's makes Leslie wonder if she's wrong about him though.

Leslie holds in her sigh and looks around the hallway made of concrete on one side and cheap plywood on the other. She's pretty sure one push would make the plywood fall over, revealing an empty warehouse, covered in graffiti.

A witch comes around the corner, asking what happened. Leslie can tell immediately that she's alpha, the kind that demands respect even from male alphas. She almost looks at the floor, but being raised by an alpha mother made Leslie learn not to hold her eyes down in submission. "You only submit to your mate, Leslie," her mom has told her multiple times.

“Got punched,” Ben says, “it’s fine.”

“You’re bleeding,” the witch says, “HR will have my ass if we don’t take care of this. Which one of you punched him? Was it you?” she asks Mark.

“It was me,” Leslie says, and the witch stares at her for a full minute before cackling. Leslie can see why she's a witch.

“Oh this is too good. Well come with me,” she says, gesturing to Leslie.

“Do you want us to go with you?” Ann asks, sounding more like the Ann she knows and loves again.

“Nah, you go ahead. I’ll meet you outside.” Leslie hugs Ann quickly before she runs to catch up with the witch and zombie before the lights go back off.

The witch opens a door and she follows the zombie into a rather nice office. The witch closes the door and sits in her chair, gesturing for them to sit across from her.

“Jenn-”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Oh, it’s really quite simple,” Leslie says, while the witch tosses him a box of tissues. "I was with my best friend, Ann Perkins and her boyfriend-who wasn't even supposed to be here but managed to snake his way into our night somehow- and they were teasing me about being scared, but I wasn't scared. I was just angry because Mark is a jerk and Ben jumped out of nowhere and while I'm at it, this place is way too dark. How are people supposed to know where they're going?"

Jenn the witch looks at Ben, who says, head tilted back to stop the bleeding, “I jumped out, she punched me.”

“Gotcha.”

“It was an accident. Again, I never would have punched him if Mark-”

“Yeah, I don’t care,” Jenn says, silencing Leslie. “I don’t think it’s broken but you should still go to the hospital and make sure."

He throws the bloody tissues into the trash. "Yeah, okay."

"Take the rest of the night. And you-" she points to Leslie- "you should take the fraidy cat exit so you don't punch any more of my employees."

“Come on, I’ll show you out," Ben says, leading her out of the office and down a dimly lit hallway, also made of plywood. They stop at another door. "I gotta change and get out of this make up. They probably won't be out for awhile, if you want to hang out."

"Um, okay." She follows him inside the dressing room. It's far less nice than Jenn's office, all concrete and rusted lockers and a wobbly looking desk covered in costume make up in front of a mirror covered in lipstick. There's a thing in the corner she hopes is a wig and not a dead animal. She refuses to check. But there's a chair she can sit in while he wipes his face with makeup remover, revealing his beautiful, angular face.

If that wasn't bad enough, he takes off his costume in front of her, stripping down to his boxer briefs.

Fuck her. He's even more beautiful than she imagined. Knowing this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, Leslie memorizes his sleek muscles and pale skin to the pink scars on his chest and belly while he goes over to his locker.

His butt makes her want to get on her knees and thank God for creating a miracle.

She must make a sound because he jumps, turning to her. "Shit, sorry, I didn't ask if you minded. I'm so used to getting undressed in front of the other guys I didn't think-"

"It's okay," Leslie says. It's more than okay. He can stay partially naked all night if he wants. He turns back around, pulling his jeans on.  "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did you get those scars?"

"Bad heats," Ben answers with a slight shrug. "Guess I don't handle them very well."

"Oh," she says, sure she should have known.

"Well actually, not all of them. This one I got when I fell off my bike when I was eight." He points to a small scar near his belly button.

"Do they hurt?" she asks, instantly thinking of course they hurt, dummy. "Sorry, I'm prying."

Ben laughs. "It's cool. And not anymore."

He gives her a smile and slips on his t shirt and black hoodie. She misses the sight of his pale tummy but she feels slightly less like a pervert now, even though she still wants to jump his bones.

"Ready, Knope?" he asks after he puts on his shoes.

He knows who she is. It shouldn't surprise her, given they live in the same building and took Post War America together, but it does.

The autumn air is cool and crisp, making Leslie stuff her hands into the pockets of her red hoodie. Finding a small piece of lint, she rolls it around in her fingers as they walk.

"I know I said this before, but I'm really sorry."

"It's fine, really."

"Well, I feel bad." Please don't hate me.

"You know, I heard you while you were walking through the house. I actually jumped out hoping I'd scare him."

"Really? I thought you guys were friends."

"Us? No." He stops next to a car. "Um, you know the haunted house is back that way right?"

Oh. Oops. She's been so distracted she didn't realize she followed him. Maybe a sinkhole will open up and swallow her.

It doesn't.

"Sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention. I'll just go-"

"Come with me."

"What?" She's sure she heard him wrong.

"Come with me."

Leslie hesitates, a million thoughts going through her head at once. The star of her dreams wants her to go with him, but she's promised Ann she'd meet her. But this feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it would mean getting away from Mark.

"Okay," she says. "Let me just tell Ann."

He nods. "Sure."

She sends Ann a text, asking if she should go with Ben. The response is almost immediate.

"Yes! Suck his dick."

Leslie hits her home button and turns her screen off quickly, and does her best attempt at keeping a straight face while she says, "Ann says it's cool."

He smiles at her and says, "Cool. Let's go."

Ben's car is small, but still more spacious and nice then Mark's truck. That alone makes Leslie sure she made the right choice. "Where are we going?"

"Hospital, I guess," he answers after that, I'm not sure." They drive a little, Leslie too nervous to speak before Ben eventually says, "Hey, you live in Pawnee right?" 

"Yeah."

"So what made you decide to live in the dorms instead of at home?" 

"I wanted the real college experience," Leslie says, deciding not to tell Ben the real reason, which is her mother is a single alpha who always has company over. She doesn't mind her mother dating, but she really doesn't want to hear about it. Or see it in the kitchen the next morning wearing nothing but her mom's silk robe. It covers nothing. 

"Coolio Beans," he says, driving past the haunted house. She looks for Ann, but all she sees is a long line of eager people waiting to get in.

He gives her a smile and turns on the radio. The butterflies in her stomach dance along.

-

Leslie's lost in an article about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt from 2002 when some orderlies run out to greet an ambulance. She watches as they wheel in a preteen boy, his mother chasing after, telling anyone who will listen that it's his first heat as the boy thrashes.

She remembers Ben's scars and pictures a younger version of himself, clawing at his skin, unable to stay still, drenched in sweat and screaming.

It breaks her heart.

The doctor barks orders and they all disappear into the ER.

She sighs and trades People for Time.

Next, a group of frat boys bring with their friend enter, claiming he broke his foot jumping off a roof. They take the boy in immediately, leaving his friends to stay out in the waiting room. They sit on the other side, except for one who decides to sit in the chair across from her.

"Look at me, Omega."

Leslie just flips the page of her magazine. The guy though, stands to his feet and walks over to her, taking the magazine and tossing it aside.

"I said look at me, omega."

"I have an alpha," she says, hoping that he doesn't call her on her lie.

The drunk laughs. "Sure you do, Omega. Who's this lucky alpha that's got your pussy all wet?"

"Hello." Both Leslie and the drunk alpha look at Ben at the same time. His nose looks fine, a little bruised, but unbandaged. His eyes though, are black, his jaw clenched, teeth bared.

"Is there a problem?"

For a minute, both alphas just stare at each other until the drunk relents and says, "No."

"Good." Ben waits until he slinks away to his friends, all of whom are snickering at their friend before turning to Leslie.

She has to hold the arm rests to keep from smashing her lips into his.

Ben relaxes his shoulders. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She picks up her purse and follows him out to the parking lot. "What did they say?"

"I'm fine. I just have to rest and put ice on it."

"So it's not broken?"

"Nope. Thank God too, I'd never hear the end of it," Ben says, opening his car door. "So, I'm hungry. You like JJ's right?"

She wonders how he knows. "I love JJ's."  

The only people in JJ's are the town's insomniacs and twenty somethings eating breakfast food after a night of drinking.  She's never been there at this time of day, so it feels like being in a different world.

Leslie pinches herself to make sure she's not dreaming.

The waitress, Sherrie, pours them two cups of coffee without asking if they want any and pulls out her pad. "What can I get you two?"

"I'll have have the waffles," Leslie says, adding, "With extra whipped cream."

"Same," Ben tells her, "And a plate of fries."

"You got it." Sherrie takes their menus and leaves to put their orders in.

"So," Leslie says while she adds sugar and cream to her coffee, "how long have you been working at Terrors of Pawnee?

"That is a lot of sugar," Ben says before shaking his head. "Uh, just since last year."

"Is it fun?"

"It's not bad. I usually work at the comic store but it's extra cash, you know? Plus it's only two days a week and I get to pretend to be a zombie, which is fun, pretty girls punching me aside."

Leslie's insides melt at the compliment. Whatever happens after this, let it be known Ben called her pretty. "Oh. Do you get punched a lot?"

"Nope," he says, eyes refusing to leave hers. "You're the only one."

Leslie's had boyfriends before, mostly betas and a couple alphas, all of whom dumped her almost immediately, so she's not inexperinced in the world of romance, but guys don't really flirt with her and when they do, they aren't Ben Wyatt caliber.

She's not sure what she's supposed to do.

"Oh. I am-"

"Sorry, I know." Ben smiles. "Leslie, it's okay. Sore, but okay."

"Well, at least let me pay."

He doesn't argue. He just leans back and says, "Alright," and takes another sip of his coffee.

He really is different than most alphas.

"You work at bookstore right?"

"Yeah." This one doesn't surprise her, as he comes in once a day to buy gum.

"Cool," he says, and nothing else.

Their food comes and Sherrie refills their coffee, asking if they need anything else. When they say no, she leaves and Leslie starts eating, unaware of how hungry she was until this very moment. She doesn't feel too bad though, because Ben dives into his waffles and fries.

"Can I?"

"Oh yeah, go ahead," Ben says, allowing her to take some of his fries. They're good, hot and salty, which unfortunately only reminds Leslie of Ann's last message.

In the middle of their late dinner/super early breakfast, Ben's phone rings. She recognizes the tune from somewhere but can't place it. He goes outside to answer it, leaving Leslie alone. She's able to see him through the window as he paces and talks to whoever is on the other line.

She steals more of his fries.

When he comes back, he looks agitated as he sits back down and starts shoveling food in his mouth.

"Do we need to go?"

"What? No." He doesn't elaborate, and why would he? Until tonight they were practically strangers. He does slow down eating though.

She decides on another approach. "Hey, what's your ringtone? I can't place it."

"It's the Star Wars cantina song," he says after swallowing the last piece of waffle and turning to the fries.

"Oh. Mine's the 1960's Batman theme."

Ben drops his fork, raises his eyes to meet hers and gives her a look that sends a shiver down her spine. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean it was "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga but I just changed it." She doesn't tell him she's thinking of changing it back.

"Wow."

"You two need anything else?" Sherrie asks.

"Nope," Ben says and she drops off the ticket. Leslie takes it even though Ben doesn't even try to touch it.

As they're walking back to his car, he says, "You want to see something really cool?"

Her stomach twists. She should go back to Ann, but given she would just end up being the third wheel, or forced to leave again when she and Mark decided they wanted to be alone, Leslie ends up saying, "Yes."

Besides, she really doesn't want to leave Ben. 

"So," Ben says as they drive to the surprise destination, "is the 60's Batman your favorite?"

"No, my favorite is the animated series, but the theme song doesn't really make a good ringtone."

"Wow." It's said under his breath, but she hears it. She doesn't question it because it sounds like a good wow, like he's genuinely impressed.

"Yeah. What's yours?"

"The comics, and maybe Nolans? I hate Schumacher though."

"Really? I didn't think they were that bad."

He glares at her. "Batnipples."

"Those were unfortunate," Leslie agrees, "But Batman Forever was okay. Jim Carrey was a good Riddler."

He shakes his head, but she can see a sliver of a smile. "I don't know. I might have to revoke your Batman fan license."

"No, please," Leslie says with a laugh, "anything but that! I'll do anything."

Ben gives her a look as he parks his car in front of the comic book store he works at. "Anything?"

His voice makes her skin tingle. "Yes."

"Good." Ben smiles and pulls his keys out of the ignition. "Follow me."

He opens the door with a key. "Wait here," he says as the alarm goes off. Leslie waits by the door, cringing at the sound as Ben runs to the back of the store. But then the sound goes away, leaving only an echo in Leslie's ear.

The lights turn on after that.

"Sorry about that," Ben says when he comes back, making sure the front door is locked.

"It's okay. So what's this super cool thing you have to show me?"

Ben smiles, fingers brushing her shoulder.  "C'mon."

She follows him behind the counter. "Wait, we're not robbing them are we?"

He laughs. "No." He opens a door and gestures for her to go in first. She does, her heart racing as he flips on the light. It's just a tiny manager's office, with a small cluttered desk and posters of various superheroes on the wall.

Ben takes a key off the desk and opens a drawer, pulling out a comic still in it's plastic wrapping as if it's the Holy Grail. She walks over, curious to see what it is.

"Detective Comics number twenty," Ben says, "I know it's not number one but it is the first appearance of the Batmobile so-"

"No, no, this is amazing," she says, "and probably very expensive."

"Yeah, you don't want to know."

She gives it back to him and he puts it away. "Do you ever want to open it and read it?"

"All the time," Ben answers as he cleans off the sandwich wrappers and empty cups from his bosses desk. "A couple years ago my dad sent me some old DC comics. They're not in this kind of condition though."

"That's awesome." Marry me.  "How's your nose?" She asks, seeing him wince. 

"It hurts," Ben admits. "I think whatever they gave me at the hospital is wearing off."

"Oh. Are there any ice packs or anything here?" she asks, looking around the office to try to find a fridge.

"Yeah," Ben says and she follows him out of the office and through the store to the employee's breakroom. It's a narrow room, with barely any space to move. She wonders how the employees deal with it.

She opens the freezer and finds the ice pack behind a box of ice cream sandwiches. She takes two and the pack and puts them on the counter. "Where's a towel?"

"Behind you, second drawer."

She gets a tea towel and wraps it around the ice pack and gives it and one of the sandwiches to Ben, who puts the pack on his nose and groans.

"Can you open this?" he asks, holding up the sandwich.

"Sure," she says, putting hers down so she peel the wrapper off his. She gives it back and he smiles, taking a bite. While they eat she watches as the ice pack begins to melt and water travels down his face.

How she would love to lick it off.

"Do you like working here?"

"I get a ten percent discount and I get to work with my friends and argue with people about who would win in a fight between Godzilla and Wolverine, so, yeah."

Her phone buzzes in her pocket. She checks it, seeing a text from Ann saying she's going to bed and that she loves her. Leslie texts back, "Night, Ann!!!" and puts her phone back. When she looks up, she sees Ben watching her. Studying her. 

"You're not from Indiana, right?" Leslie asks, trying to ignore the heat in her face and neck. 

He smiles. "Nope. Minnesota, actually."  

"Oh. So what made you come here?"

"Um, they were the only college to accept me."

Leslie doesn't believe that for a second. Ben is smart and responsible and a real stickler for the rules if what her friends on the third floor say is true. There's no way Pawnee's tiny but amazing university was the only to accept him.

He takes one final bite and throws away the wrapper. "Yeah."

"Which one do you prefer?"

"Between Minnesota and Indiana?" He throws the pack into the sink. "I'm not sure. There's a lot to love and hate about both places."

"Right. But if you had to choose."

"I don't know. My parents are in Minnesota and that's a con, but my sister's there so that's a plus. but my friends are here. You're here."

"I am here," Leslie agrees even though she's truly freaking out now. She wishes it wasn't so late and Ann wasn't asleep. "Is that a pro or a con?"

"Oh, it's definitely a pro," Ben says, smiling, "And Indiana has a lot of corn, which is cool, I guess."  

"What does Minnesota have?" Leslie asks, throwing away the wrapper and going over to the sink to wash off her hands.

"Lakes."

"Oh, yeah I can see why you would have a hard time choosing."

"Hey, don't knock lakes. Lakes are awesome. Before my dad split, we used to spend our summers up at Lake Montauk-"

Leslie's never been that great at geography, but in fifth grade they had to memorize the lakes of the United States, and one of them was Lake Montauk. "Isn't that in New York?"

"Yes, but apparently the sport fishing is better there? I don't know-" Ben shrugs-"I just know it was great. And me and my friend Jack would fish in the lake in our town during the summer. And in the winter we'd all go skating."

"Oh! I love ice skating."

He smiles and it makes her feel like she's floating. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I can do jumps and stuff."

"I'm impressed," he says, lips curled upwards.

He's impressed. Ben Wyatt, alpha of her dreams, is impressed with her. She's going to get that put on her tombstone.

"Thank you."

He smiles as if to say no problem. "So, we should probably go."

Leslie doesn't actually want to leave this tiny kitchenette, knowing that if they do, they will return to the dorm and the night will be over. And who knows if there's ever going to be another opportunity like this again?

"Yeah, okay," she says, following him outside where they are greeted by a dusky blue sky and storm clouds hanging overhead. It feels oddly appropriate.

It starts raining as soon as they get into the car. "Do we have great timing or what?" Leslie asks.

Ben laughs. "Yeah."

He turns on the ignition and the heat, but he makes no effort to start driving. It's fine though, she's in no hurry. She's about to say his name when his phone rings again. This time, he answers it in front of her.

"Hey, Steph," he says. She tries to remember if any of his exes are named Stephanie. "What? Where's mom?" Sister. Right. She knew that. "Ugh. What? She's what?" Ben sighs loudly, combing his fingers through his hair. "Steph, it's okay. I promise I'm going to be home for Thanksgiving." He laughs, "Okay. Goodnight Padawan."

"Sorry," he says when he hangs up. "That was just my sister."

"It's okay," Leslie replies. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It's just dumb family stuff."

"Oh, right." She closes her eyes and gathers her courage. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ben shrugs. "Not much to talk about," he says, turning the radio up. "This is a great song."

Leslie watches him as he sings along, shouting the chorus. He's so beautiful she can hardly stand it.

But soon he's pulling up next to the parking lot in front of their dorm. They walk side by side to the door, which he opens with his card key. "After you," he says, and she smiles back and goes inside, breathing in the smell of stale popcorn that has existed since the mid eighties according to rumor.  

The only sound she can hear as they make their way up the stairs is her heart beating in her ear. When they reach her floor, she's ready to ask him to come with her, even though it's almost morning and tonight wasn't exactly a date.

"So," Leslie starts, when they reach her floor. "I-"

"I had fun tonight, Knope," Ben says, and with that Leslie feels her heart fall into her stomach. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"But without the punching right?" Leslie laughs, to hide her nerves, but the way Ben looks at her makes her think he can see right through her.

"Yeah," he smiles and then does something Leslie doesn't expect at all.  

He hugs her. His arm are sinewy and strong and he smells like vanilla ice cream as she tries to memorize how his body feels against hers in case she never gets this opportunity again. He touches her, fingers light on her skin as they draw a line down her arms to her wrists, leaving a trail of sparks.

It's over too soon, and when she looks into his eyes, they are almost as dark as when he confronted the drunk frat guy at the hospital. She's trapped by them, unable to move or look away, even though she feels the urge to bow her head in submission.

"Come with me."

She doesn't think about it. She just nods and says, "Okay," as he takes her hand and leads her up the stairs.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Ashisfriendly for the love and friendship and for the beta! And thank you to bookworm03, for listening to me whine! You're both beautiful and talented and I owe you both. 
> 
> I have revised the first chapter so if you would like to, please read that again before you read this one.

"Welcome to Wamapoke dorm, I'm Ben Wyatt, What's your name?" Ben asks, looking at the text from his girlfriend Rebecca and not at the person standing in front of the cheap card table he's been sitting at for the last four and a half hours. Mouth dry, he takes a drink of the now lukewarm water beside him and scratches off the sweat gathering at the base of his neck while he tries to figure out a way to tell her he'd rather watch "Blade Runner" until he falls asleep than hang out tonight. 

But no, as an RA, he not only has to pass out room numbers and keys, but he has to make sure everyone on his floor has gotten into their rooms okay and that they're not going to kill their roommates on the first night. 

"Hi, Ben Wyatt. I'm Leslie Knope. With a K." 

Ben quickly finds her name between Alex Keaton (Really?) and Janet Kzaskinki. "Right," he says, flipping it open to find her dorm registration forms. "You're on the second floor with Ron." Ben points over to where Ron was his standing with his arms crossed. "Well, he was over there." 

It's at this moment Ben finally looks at Leslie Knope. She's small, barely coming up to his shoulders, but there's something about the way she stands that makes her look almost larger than life. Her blonde hair looks almost pink in the light and she's squinting because the sun is in her eyes. 

A feeling of want comes over him. 

His phone buzzes again, reminding him that he has a girlfriend. 

"Well, I'm sure I can find him," Leslie says. He knows he should respond, but he can't take his eyes off her. "So I just go in or-"

"Oh right." Ben rubs his eyes. The sun must be getting to him. "You're in room-" he looks at the form again, "2C. You'll need to get your key from Ron though." 

"Great," Leslie says, and then she takes the folder and leaves, just as the person behind her steps up to table. 

"Welcome to Wamapoke Dorm. Name?"

An hour or so later, someone drops a bottle of cold water in front of him and an apple. "Thanks," he says, looking up to see Chris. "Hey."

Chris beams back. "Ben Wyatt. How is my absolute favorite person in the world?" 

"Starving," Ben answers, taking a bite of his apple. It's a red delicious, his favorite. 

"I thought you might be. How's registration going?" Chris asks, running over to the door to hold it open for a family bringing stuff in. 

"Not bad. I'm pretty sure my ass is seared to this chair though."

A mother raises her eyebrows at Ben for his language, but he takes a bite of his apple, ignoring her. "How are things over at Sweetums?" 

"They are absolutely fantastic, Ben Wyatt. In fact, I should get back over there. I just wanted to wish you luck at your first year as RA." 

Ben smiles back. "Thanks, Chris." 

An hour later, Ben's done handing out the keys to everyone on his floor except for one. Figuring it's just a person running late, he leaves the key and forms with the front desk and goes to get a cup of coffee. 

When he reaches his building he sees Leslie, carrying two boxes stacked on top of each other. He watches, wondering if she can even see. 

It turns out she can't, which is why she literally runs into him when he goes to open the door for her. 

"Need help?" he asks, taking the box on top. 

"Thank you." She's sweating a little, her hair is in a loose ponytail that's coming out on the side. 

"Wow, this is heavy," Ben says as they walk up the stairs, moving to the side as some other students run down the steps to go get more of their own belongings. "What's in this?" 

"Binders, mostly."

"Wow. I was going to guess your collection of rocks." 

Leslie giggles. No no, it's more of a cackle and it's probably the best sound he's ever heard. "No." 

"Wow. I can't believe you carried both of these."

"It's all my omega strength," Leslie says as they put the boxes down on the floor. 

"Right." Ben smiles at her joke and looks around. "Wow. You got a single."

"Yeah, I know." Leslie scratches her chin. "I had a roommate last year over in Ramsett but all we did was fight so I figured it's probably best if I got a single this year." 

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ben says, "I had a roommate my freshman year and he drove me crazy. He'd wake me up every morning at four to go jogging." 

Her face scrunches adorably. "Ew, jogging. Did you kill him?"

"Uh, not exactly. We dated for almost a year." He doesn't mention that it was a relationship based on physical satisfaction alone, because getting off with Chris was the only way he could stomach being around the man without wanting to kill him. 

It wasn't until they broke up and Ben moved out that they actually became friends.

"Oh." She blinks for a minute, seeming to process the information. "Are you still-"

"Nah. I have a girlfriend now." He's been calling Rebecca his girlfriend for four months without any problem, but it feels wrong to say it now. He shakes away the feeling though, figuring it's just heat exhaustion. "So uh, is there anything else you need help with?"

"Nah, I think I got it," she says, still smiling. "Besides, you probably have a ton of people on your floor who need help."

Ben sighs and looks up at the ceiling, just as they hear a crash come from above. "Yeah, I guess that's my job. I'll see you around, Leslie."

"Bye," She gives him a small wave that he returns. 

-

They've been making out for ten minutes when Rebecca pulls away and says, "You're distracted."

"No, I'm not." Ben goes to kiss her again, but she keeps her hand on the center of his chest and shakes her head. He looks down at it, seeing her pink nail polish has already chipped despite her doing them the night before. 

"Really? Because usually my bra is on the floor by now." 

Rebecca reaches over and grabs her glasses, putting them back on before she pulls her chestnut hair back into a messy bun on the top of her head. It'd be easy to pull it down and kiss her, but she's right, he is distracted. 

He just hopes she hasn't figured out why. 

"I've just had a long day. Sorry." 

Rebecca smiles and lays beside him, kissing his cheek. It's nice, like her. She's not his mate, but that's never mattered before. 

So it shouldn't matter now. It shouldn't matter that Rebecca smells like citrus and salt water when what he wants now is wildflowers and the early morning breeze. 

Rebecca's never tasted right, but no one ever has. And kissing her isn't repugnant. He's kissed people who've made him want to throw up, but her taste has always been pleasant. It's not bad, it's not great. It's just okay. Ben's always been fine with just okay. 

There's no reason to think kissing Leslie would be any better. 

"Ben?" 

Ben raises his eyes to meet hers. A surge of disappointment hits him when he sees hazel instead of fiery blue, but he pushes it away. "I'm here." 

"Okay," she smiles and he remembers what attracted him to her in the first place. "You wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure."

-

Ben's dreams Saturday night are about her. In one, he's following her around campus, trying to get her to look at him, but she never would. In another, Ben's with his sister at a carnival and Leslie is with them, her fingers interlaced with his and she's holding a giant pink elephant. In the last, they're in his old station wagon, his teeth sinking into her skin. 

He's never dreamed of Rebecca that way. Or anyone, if he thinks about it. 

So he's grateful when he gets to work on Sunday and Garth already has the Risk board out. A good game will ease the panic that's settled in his stomach. 

The good thing about Risk is that it takes a while to play, especially with Garth. The steady stream of customers also serves as a distraction. 

"You guys got the newest "Spider-Man"?"

"Yeah, they should be over there," Ben says, pointing to the bins clearly labeled Spider-Man before he returns to the task at hand, invading Poland. 

He hears the door chime open but he doesn't look to see who it is, only muttering a hello as he decides whether or not it's a necessary risk to lose some troops in Switzerland. 

"What's up nerd?" 

Ben keeps his eyes on the board and moves troops from Finland instead. "Hey Tom." 

Usually whenever Tom comes in, he makes fun of Ben and the other customers for a few minutes before he gets bored and leaves, but today he lingers at the front counter, not saying a word. 

"Something bothering you, Tom?"

"Yeah. You're a huge nerd, that's what," Tom replies, but there's no heat in his words. It's as if he isn't even trying. 

Ben stands, looking at Garth. "I'm taking a break. Watch the store." 

"Yeah, whatever."

"And don't try to mess with the board," Ben warns him as he goes around the counter, toward the break room. Tom doesn't follow, but he's still there when Ben comes back out with his jacket. He passes by a lost looking omega teenager. He comes in about once a week, quiet as he wanders the store. Ben usually lets the kid do his thing, but this time he can feel his eyes staring at the back of Ben's head. 

He turns and smiles, genuine this time. "Hey. You finding everything okay?"

The kid doesn't look Ben in the eye. If it's because he's shy or Ben's an alpha, he doesn't know. "Do you guys sell movies?" 

Ben knows the kid knows exactly where the dvds are, but still he holds his finger at Tom to wait and says, "Yeah, follow me. You looking for anything in particular?" 

"Um, not really. Thanks, dude." 

"No problem." 

Ben grins at the kid and goes back to Tom. "Come on." 

He leads Tom into the break room and grabs a Pepsi out of the fridge, telling Tom to get whatever he wants. Tom grabs an orange mango juice Ben's pretty sure belongs to his boss, but he keeps his mouth shut, deciding he'll just replace it later. 

They go out back to the smoker's area, which is really just a rusty trash can turned over for a chair and a bucket to throw their used cigarette butts in. They aren't there to smoke though, because Tom hates the way the smoke gets into his clothing and Ben left his last pack of cigarettes back in his room. 

While he waits for Tom to tell him what's wrong, Ben looks at his phone. He checks his sister's facebook and twitter, making sure she's okay. There's a picture of her smiling after cycling for ten kilometers. He likes it and takes a drink of his Pepsi as he checks the rest of his feed. He's about to check twitter when hears Tom ask, "So what do I do?"

Ben blinks. He had no idea Tom was even talking. "Um-" He looks at Tom's face, trying to figure out what the best thing to say is. Seeing hesitation a hint of hope on his face, Ben says, "I think you should go for it, man." 

He really hopes he didn't just convince Tom to do something illegal. 

"So you don't think it's weird?"

"Of course not." He really hopes it's not weird. 

Thirty seconds later, when Ben feels Tom's lips on his, he decides that it's very weird. 

"Um, what was that?" His Pepsi splashes as he moves away, getting on his shirt. 

"You told me to go for it."

"I didn't know you were going to do that!" 

"But you're bi, right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't-" This is what Ben gets for not listening. "Okay, okay, tell me why you did that." 

Tom exhales a loud breath. "I knew you weren't listening. Who are you even talking to on that thing anyway?" He gestures to Ben's phone. 

"Nobody. It's not important. Why did you kiss me?" 

"I felt something with Jean Ralphio the other night. A you know, tingly thing."

"I don't see how you having the tinglies with Jean Ralphio equals you kissing me." He puts air quotes around tinglies just to make sure Tom knows how absurd he thinks the whole thing is. 

"So I went to talk to Ron about it, since he's my RA, but he sent me to Leslie-" 

Ben momentarily tunes Tom out to think about Leslie and that cute blazer skirt combo she wore the other day. There was a run in her pantyhose, leading him to some dark thoughts about tearing them off. 

"And so yeah, that's why I kissed you." 

Ben scratches the itch at his temple. "Let me get this straight. You felt something with Jean Ralphio and went into a gay crisis so you went to Leslie who told you to test it?"

"Pretty much."

"You do realize she probably meant go test it with Jean Ralphio, right?" 

"I had not thought of that," Tom admits, looking suitably embarrassed. "But it doesn't matter, because I felt nothing when I kissed you. It was like kissing my sister's elderly aunt or Leslie." 

_Don't ask if it's your Leslie. Don't think of her as your Leslie._ "You kissed Leslie? Leslie Knope?" 

_Please be a different Leslie._

"Yeah. It was pretty good too, up until the point where she beat me up with one of her binders. Those things hurt, man." 

Ben smiles, proud and kind of turned on by the image of her kicking Tom's ass. He wonders how they know each other. They must be friends if he's asking her for relationship advice. "Well, that's probably because you're not in love with us." 

Tom puts his face in his hands and makes a sound of distress. "This isn't happening."

The door opens and Garth sticks his head out. "Hey, we've got a swarm of customers, man, i need help."

"Yeah, I'm coming," Ben tells him, before putting his hand on Tom's shoulder. "Look, just go talk to him, you'll figure it out. Good luck." 

"Thanks, nerd." 

Ben just laughs and follows Garth inside. 

 

On Monday Ben's grateful for the start of the semester. He listens while his professors drone on about the syllabus and how important it is that they start looking for internships for the spring and summer. 

He doesn't think about Leslie at all. 

And then Tuesday morning comes and there she is, in his Post War America class. 

"Hey," he says when she says hi to him, sitting two aisles behind her. "Uh, what's up?" 

"Not much," Leslie replies, picking at her brownie."I made it last night, would you like one?"  
Their dorm doesn't have a kitchen. He wonders where she made them. 

"You have brownies in your bag?" 

Leslie pulls out a ziplock bag."I made some for everyone on my floor and some extra, just in case," she explains, handing Ben a piece.

"So, is History your major?" he asks, picking apart his brownie. It's rich and chewy, almost melting in his mouth. 

It doesn't help him at all. 

"It is. What's yours?"

"Accounting." 

Leslie makes a face. The same face almost everyone makes when he tells them that, unless they're an accounting major or Chris. But Chris thinks everything is great. 

"Hey. It's good money."

Whatever Leslie's going to say in response is interrupted by the professor walking in. 

During the lecture, which unlike his other classes is only partially about the syllabus before the professor starts talking about the end of World War II, Ben watches her as she takes notes able to see her paper. Her handwriting is nice. It's big and loopy and the unicorns she doodles in the margins are really cute. 

Her hair is curly. There's one in particular that goes in a different direction than the ones next to it. He wants to play with it, see if it's as soft as it looks.

On Wednesday, he stops inside the campus bookstore to get a pack of gum. She's there, wearing a university shirt, behind the counter, helping a male alpha purchase his books. 

"How was I supposed to know we'd actually need our books? It's a freaking outrage."

"Well, you're an English major so-"

"Don't talk to me like that, Omega-"

Even though the other alpha's a few inches taller than him, Ben doesn't hesitate to tap him on his shoulder, his need to protect Leslie stronger than his own self preservation. "Sorry, what did you say?" 

"Ben, it's okay-" Leslie says, "Dennis was just leaving." 

Dennis cracks a smile and points at Ben. "I see what's going on here. I like you, man. We should hang out."

Ben steps up to the counter and picks out a package of Juicy Fruit. "I am definitely not hanging out with him."

Leslie laughs. "I wouldn't. He's insane. So will this be all for you today?"

He wants to ask her for her heart. Instead he nods and says, "Uh, yeah."  
-

It's almost impossible to stay away from her. He wants to wait for her and walk her to her next class even if it's far from his. He wants to punch all the other alpha's who might catch her scent and decide they want to take a bite. 

Fuck him if he doesn't want to take a bite himself.

For most of Ben's life, he's never felt like an alpha should, according to society and his father. In fact, until he presented, they all all feared he would be a beta, or worse. Not that he would have cared if he was an omega. But even after presenting, he never fully fit in. He's tall but not big, like most male alphas. He's never felt bloodlust when it comes to being around omega's in heat. 

But here he is, thinking about all the different ways he could take her. He remembers her strength, but knowing that he's stronger makes his pants feel tighter. He could lift her up and she could hold on while he-

Ben doesn't let himself continue that thought. 

The weeks go by in a rush. He's able to push Leslie out of his mind by concentrating on school and work. He does his best to keep his relationship with Rebecca going, but she's distant too. He's not sure if it's because she's busy too or if she can feel him slipping away. 

It would be so easy to just break up with her and seek out Leslie. But then he remembers his mother's face when he was ten after their father left them when he met his real mate, and even though he knows the situations aren't the same, he still can't get over the guilt. 

Besides, there's no way of knowing Leslie would even be interested. 

It's just a crush. A stupid, one sided crush, that will go away eventually. 

He even debates dropping the course, but the subject's interesting and despite knowing better, he likes being near her. He likes listening to her voice when she answers a question in class. He even likes debating with her just to see the way her nose scrunches.  
And if he stops by the bookstore everyday to get gum, it's only because he likes the flavor. 

Fuck. 

-

Ben's in the cafeteria, studying for his midterms while he eats a turkey sub when his sister calls. 

"Hey, Steph."

"Hey. Can you come home I miss you." 

"I don't know if I can," he says, "I've got midterms."

"So that means you have break right?" She sounds so enthusiastic he hates the thought of disappointing her, but he's got three case modules due the week after break and while he could do them anywhere, he knows that if he goes back to Partridge, his time would be taken up by dealing with his family and avoiding being seen by the town. 

And given what happened last Christmas, he'd rather not take the chance. 

"Yeah," Ben says, switching the phone to his other ear, "but I have to work."

"Oh." His heart breaks. "Are you still working at the haunted house?" 

"Yeah. It's pretty fun actually, I'm lead zombie now so-"

"You're such a dork," Stephanie says, and he can see her roll her eyes. 

"I know." Ben laughs. "Look, if it's that bad I can probably-"

Stephanie sighs. "No. It's just the usual." 

"Right." Ben looks around, glad that he's alone and no one is inquiring to what the usual means. "Well if it gets worse, call Henry."

"I can't. He's gone." 

"Henry's gone?" Ben thought his brother understood that living in Partridge meant he had to look after Stephanie.

"He took Cind- I mean someone, to the lake house." 

"Cindy?" Ben asks, feeling knocked over. Did Stephanie really just start to say their brother took his ex girlfriend to the lake house?" 

"No?"

Ben hears the worried yes in her voice though. "I'm fine, Steph. It's not like Cindy and I are mates or anything. It's cool." It's not like Henry and Cindy are mates either. It's just weird. 

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Look, do you have money and food?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'll be okay. And if it gets too bad go to Julie's."

"Okay. But you'll come next weekend though right?"

"I promise." 

He ends the conversation by saying he loves her, then he hangs up after she returns the affection. He tries going back to his book, but the words blur as a headache begins to form. He packs his bag, throws the rest of the sandwich in the trash and heads back to his dorm to get ready for work. 

He's stopped though by a freshman sitting at his door. She isn't crying but he can see from the way she's hugging herself she's upset and even though he has a headache, he knows that half the time all he has to do is listen while they tell him how much they miss their home or dog or whatever, and he says, "Yeah, I know, i got a sister back home I miss." Then, he gives them a friendly pat on the back that's probably more awkward than anything else if Ben's being honest. 

The problem though is the freshman is already being taken care of by Leslie Knope. She's sitting next to the other girl, an omega, sharing her Red Vines and looking at pictures on the girl's phone. 

"I miss him so much. I wanted to bring him with me but dad caught me trying to put his cage inside the car. I don't know if I can do this."

"Sure you can, April. You know I was scared too my first year, but hey you've made it this far so-" Leslie looks up, as if finally realizing someone else is there. "Oh, Hi Ben!"

Ben waves, hoping he appears cool. "Hey. What's up?"

"April was just showing me pictures of her pet rat."

Ben's always been unnerved by rats, even domesticated ones. He thinks it has something to do with the time Henry put one in his bed with him while he was sleeping when he was ten. 

Maybe Ben should punch Henry the next time he sees him. 

"Oh. Uh, I bet he's cute. Um, do you need-" He points to his door. 

Leslie follows his fingers, eyes getting comically wide as she jumps up to her feet. "Ooops!" She laughs, nervous as she offers April her hand. "Let's go get some waffles,"she says, guiding her away, giving Ben an apologetic smile as they pass. 

He doesn't exhale until he's in his room, door closed behind him. He drops his bag on the floor and leans against the door, closing his eyes to try to calm himself. His phone rings and he glances at it, seeing Rebecca's name. He lets it go to voicemail though, not wanting to talk to her. 

No, he would rather go eat waffles with Leslie. 

Ben spends break staring at excel spreadsheets and re reading his favorite comics at the store because Pawnee's nerd population has disappeared for the week and he's the only one there. Even Garth has disappeared. 

Rebecca calls him, and even though he wishes he missed her, it's not her Ben's longing for. 

On Friday and Saturday, he dresses like one of jumping out from behind a flimsy wall to scare people. Most of them scream and jump, but one kid just rolls his eyes and says, "You're a shitty zombie, dude." 

At least when he goes back to the dorm, it's full again. 

Rebecca's waiting for him. Her hair is shorter, but her glasses still fall down her nose and when she kisses him she still does the thing with her tongue he's always enjoyed. 

But the kiss feels desperate, like she's testing him. He brings her into his room, clutching her shirt as he tries to pretend she's the one he wants. 

He wakes up the next morning to see Rebecca buttoning up her blouse. "Hey," he says, reaching out for her. "Come back to bed."

Rebecca gives him a tight smile and shakes her head. "Can't. I have a study group." 

Ben rolls over on his back and stares at his ceiling while she gathers her things. 

"So, who's Leslie?" Rebecca asks, tying up her boots. 

Time stops and Ben hears brakes screeching in his head. "What?"

"Leslie," Rebecca repeats. "You called out her name last night."

This isn't happening. He's been so careful. 

"It's okay," Rebecca says when Ben starts to argue that it didn't mean anything. "I kind of suspected something was going on. You had that look."

"I didn't cheat." He has no idea if she'll believe him, but he needs her to know. 

"No, I know. But you're in love already and that's worse." Rebecca leans down, giving Ben one last long kiss and he knows what she's doing. She's testing him to see if her hypothesis is true. When she's done, she pulls away and sighs. "Okay." 

"I'm sorry." She'll never believe him, but he is. This wasn't what he wanted, not in a million years 

"Don't be," she says at his door now. "Just, bring my stuff by my room when you get a chance." 

The door clicks behind her and just like that, it's over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay. hope you enjoy and as always your comments and kudos mean the world to me.

 

"After you," he says, opening his door. Leslie smiles and passes him, heart beating so loud she's sure Ben can hear it. He closes the door behind him, telling her to make herself comfortable. She slips off her shoes and looks around. It's not like she's never been in his room before, just never in this context. But she reminds herself it's okay, that there's really nothing to nervous about.

Leslie's just not sure why she's there. Are they going to hang out and watch a movie? Make out? Play a board game? She's about to ask when he takes a step forward and places his hands on her face and kisses her. It only lasts matter of seconds, but it's enough to completely flip her world upside down.

When the kiss is over, his hand remains on her face, thumb rubbing her cheek while he looks at her with pitch black eyes. It should make her nervous, but it doesn't. It makes her feel wanted.

"We don't have to do anything," he says. "I just needed to do that before I went out of my mind."

There's something thrilling about knowing Ben wanted to kiss her. Maybe even as much as she's wanted to kiss him. It takes the nerves away, replacing them with something else. Something better.

"Me too." Leslie leans up to kiss him again. This time he wraps one of his arms around her waist, fingers pushing into her skin as he brings her even closer. She threads her fingers through the ends of his hair as he takes complete control.  

She isn't being kissed. She's being claimed.

All she can think is _finally._

She's breathless by the time the kiss ends. "Ben."

"Leslie," he says, still holding her. "I don't want this night to end."

Fireworks go off in Leslie's heart. "I don't want this night to end either. But eventually we'll get tired and need to go to sleep."

Ben's laughs. "Is that so? I've heard stories about your sleep habits, Leslie Knope."

"Three and a half hours is a perfectly reasonable amount of time for a person to sleep."

"It really isn't," Ben says, shaking his head. But then he kisses the top of her head as if it's a perfectly normal thing for him to do and walks over to his dresser. "I have a t shirt and an extra pair of pajama pants you can wear if you want. You'll probably have to roll them up though, or down-"

Leslie can still feel Ben's kiss on her head, as if his lip are lingering there still.

She's reminded of when she would twirl around in circles in her backyard as a kid and fall to the ground, feeling as if she was going to fall off the world as it spun beneath her, but now instead of floating off into space, she's confident Ben would keep her grounded.

"So I guess I'm staying the night?"

For a fraction of a second she wonders if they're moving too fast, but then she remembers how her parents married an hour after they met and decides this isn't too fast at all.

Ben winces. "Oh fuck. I forgot to ask you if you wanted to sleep over. That was dumb of me, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Leslie says, touching his jaw with her thumb for no other reason than she can. "I want to stay."

He smiles back, leaning into her hand. "Good. I think I have a toothbrush that hasn't been opened. And we can watch a movie if-"

"Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me, please."

"Yes, ma'am," he replies, pulling her close.

Somehow, they find their way to Ben's bed. She lays down, pulling his hoodie until he's on top of her, smiling against her lips.

"You sure? I really didn't-"

"Yes." She's never been more sure of anything in her life.

Being underneath Ben feels so natural, like she was made to be there, legs wrapped around his slender waist while he kisses her neck.His kisses are sharp, leaving angry marks that he chases away with his tongue.  She wants more though. More kisses. More skin.

Ben smirks as he sits up, full of alpha cockiness. If it were any other time, she might tease him about it, but she's too busy watching him take off his shirt.

She wants to kiss every scar one by one.

"Stand up," he orders in a voice that's so rough it makes Leslie burn.

She does, legs shaking as she stands before him. With slow, able fingers he unbuttons her shirt from the bottom up, kissing every bit of skin he finds.

"Ben, please." She doesn't know how much of this she can take. She wants to kiss every inch of his face. She wants to see if she can make him tremble with her touch. She wants to know what he feels like inside her.

"Patience," he says.

She's not good at being patient. Especially when it comes to sex, but the instinct to obey Ben is too powerful.

This never happened with any of her other boyfriends. Not even with the alphas.

Ben is different though. She exhales and he says, "Good," as he finishes unbuttoning her shirt. He peels it off her, studying her with dark eyes.

Then he growls and pulls her to him, yanking her bra down before attacking her breasts with his mouth. She nearly screams, wrapping her arms around his neck.

She's so focused on what he's doing to her breasts she doesn't notice he's taken off her jeans and panties until she feels the cool air and his fingers against her skin. He touches her with feather like softness. She spreads her legs for him, needing more.

He gives it to her. Slow and steady, he gives her everything. All she can do is hope he catches her if she falls.

He must read her mind because he throws her on the bed, pushing her legs apart.

Leslie expects more of Ben's fingers, but instead he lays down between her legs and begins to kiss her inner thighs.  

It's not like no one has ever done this before. But it's different. Better.

Pleasure builds slowly, blossoming from Leslie's inner thighs to her stomach. She pulls on his bedspread as a slew of whining curses passes her lips.

When he comes back up he looks as satisfied as she feels, though she's pretty sure she's going to be in a Ben Wyatt induced haze for days.

"The sun's coming up," he says, leaning over her. His mouth is wet but she doesn't care.

"Yeah."

He yawns, laying beside her. "We should get some sleep."

"Okay," Leslie agrees, because she's still delirious from her orgasm. It takes her more time than she would like to admit to realize he's serious.

"Wait. does that mean we're not doing-"

Ben chuckles against her neck. "You in a hurry?"

"No, but-"

"I'm exhausted," Ben says, moving her hair so he can kiss more of her."And when I fuck you, Leslie Knope, I want to make sure I don't pass out."

"Oh," she says, because now she's going to be unable to think about anything else.

He nuzzles her neck."Why, you need something?"

"I'm an omega," Leslie responds, turning around so she can face him. "I always need something."

He turns onto his back and she moves so she's in the crook of his arm. His fingers play on her skin.

"How does that work, anyway?" Ben asks. His eyes are closed, voice heavy.

"Needing it all the time?"

'Yeah."

Leslie taps his chest with fingers. "It's a drag. But the pills help a little."

"That's good."

"Yeah," Leslie says, gazing at his face. The bruise under his eye looks more defined now, like a smudge of black and purple eyeshadow on his cheek. She'll probably never stop feeling guilty for it, no matter if it lead to this."How's your eye?"

There's a long pause where Ben doesn't answer Realizing he's fallen asleep, Leslie tries listening to his breath and heartbeat, but it's impossible. Her mind won't stop racing

She's had a crush on Ben for over two years. And really if she thinks about it, she isn't surprised by the connection, she felt it almost the exact moment they met on the quad during orientation, but all the same, it feels almost too good to be true, like a dream she hasn't woken up from yet.

She turns over when she gets hot and Ben turns with her, arm wrapped around her protectively. "I got you," he says, and Leslie believes him.

 xxx 

 

It's seven when they wake up. Or rather when Leslie wakes up, panics and tries to get Ben to get up, only for him to glare at the clock, groan and pull her back into bed.

She has to admit his bed is nice. The mattress is free of lumps and his sheets smell like a fresh breeze. And it contains him, which is probably the biggest plus of them all. She can't stay in bed all day though. No matter how sexy the company.

"Ben, it's late," she says, kissing his jaw.

"To you and roosters maybe, but to us sane people it's early. When do you usually wake up anyway?"

"Around four thirty."

His eyes are closed but she swears they close even tighter. "And what time do you go to sleep?"

"Oneish?"

Ben opens his eyes to stare at her with an incredulity she's seen many times before. But she doesn't mind because it's his warm brownie eyes that are staring at her with complete dismay. But then his expression changes, eyes softening and lips curling upward as he puts his hand on her face.

"What am I gonna do with you, Leslie Knope?"

"I can think of some things."

Ben laughs, rolling over onto his back, gesturing for her to crawl on him. "Is that so?"

"It's so," Leslie says, tracing one of his scars with her finger. It looks fresh. She thinks about the boy from the night before, his screams while the brought him into the hospital.

"What's wrong?"

She tells him about the boy, screaming and thrashing as they brought him in. His mom in tears as she ran behind.

"I keep thinking about you and I- I don't like thinking about you in pain."

"I know," he says, his expression soft and adoring again.

She smiles back and lays her head on his chest. "You know,I told that guy you're my alpha. The one at the hospital when you came out. Well I didn't really say it was you-"

"Leslie. I am your alpha."

Leslie stills. She knew it already, could feel it deep inside her as if it was etched into her bones, but to hear him say it makes the world seem brighter. She's pretty sure if she went outside people would be dancing and there would be unicorns galloping on rainbows. It's probably raining waffles. Her stomach growls at the thought.

Moments pass as they share kisses of every shape and color. Ben's hands smooth down her back cupping her ass. She breathes in sharply as his fingers massage her.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?" He sounds distracted, as if he's lost in just touching her.

"I have to go."

"It's still too early,"Ben says. "Stay here."

"No,I mean I have to go to the Wizz palace."

"What's the Wizz pal-oh." He smiles. "Okay."

His hands move off her much to Leslie’s disappointment, but she stands up, feeling the heat of his gaze on her skin.

"I'll be right back," she promises, slipping on a pair of his sweats and a t-shirt.

"I'll be here."

Ben's asleep when Leslie returns, his back facing her. She pauses to appreciate the moment, to appreciate him. He isn't as big or tall as the other alphas she's dated but he's no less powerful or strong. She found that out for sure last night. His strength is there, all coiled up in a compact frame.

She debates going back to her room, just to change, but decides against it and looks around his room instead. His desk is neat, with a coffee cup full of pens and highlighters and a calculator on one side and a notebook and a picture of a girl on the other. Leslie carefully picks it up. The girl looks to be around ten in the photograph, and she's on a swing, her long brown hair flying behind her. "Hi, Steph," Leslie whispers before putting it down and going over to Ben's bookshelf.

The top is full of action figures and more photographs of him and his family.

On the second shelf are his comics, and then fiction novels, followed by nonfiction in order by subject and finally his text books. Most of them have titles like "Fundamental Accounting Principles and "Ethical Obligations and Decision Making in Accounting."

Leslie leaves those alone and grabs a comic and returns to Ben's bed, carefully getting in so she doesn't wake him up.

"Mmm," Ben says, rolling over and pressing his nose against her thigh. "That's a good one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he says, sitting up. He looks delightfully rumpled. "You're wearing far too many clothes."

Leslie cackles as Ben takes the comic out of her hands and places it on the in table next to his bed. "Is that so?"

"It is so," he says, moving between her legs. "I'm starving."

Her stomach growls on cue. Leslie winces and Ben's eyebrow goes up, but the next thing she knows he's grabbing her hand and pulling her up. "Come on, babe, let's go get breakfast."

xxx

 

They stop by her room first so Leslie can change. Upon seeing her reflection in her mirror, Leslie frowns at the sight of herself. "I need a shower," she says, "You mind?"

"The thought of you wet and naked?" Ben asks, eying her, "Not at all."

Leslie laughs and shakes her head. "I'll be quick."

He gives her a kiss that should be quick but ends up lasting several minutes. It's as if Ben figured out how to kiss her specifically. Or maybe his lips were made for hers.

"Okay," she says, "I'll be right back."

When she steps out of the shower, Ann is there, brushing her teeth. She spits into the sink and turns to Leslie as she applies toothpaste to her sonicare.

"Tell me everything."

There's not enough time to tell Ann everything, even though she really wants to. But judging by the way Ann grins, she doesn't have to. She will though. Tomorrow over breakfast.

Although, sometimes grabbing your best friend's hand and jumping up and down with them is really all you need to do.

"I'm so happy for you," Ann says, hugging her. Leslie hugs her back.

"Thank you. I'm sorry about last night."

"Don't be," Ann says, 'None of that was your fault. And honestly after you left and it was just me and Mark I realized something about him."

"Yeah, what's that?" Leslie asks, rinsing her mouth.

"He's really boring."

Leslie laughs. "He's so boring."

"So boring," Ann groans. "So I don't think that's going to last."

Leslie can't suppress her smile The sooner Mark is out of the picture and Ann is back to being herself, the better. "Don't worry. I'll find you love."

Ann shakes her head but she's smiling. "Thanks."

 

He's lying on her bed, legs stretched out, flipping through her Art History book when she returns to her room. She's feeling better now, that she's clean and has talked to Ann. He waves his fingers at her, making her remember what he did with them the night before. And that she wants him to do it to her again.

"Hey, do you know what the weather is supposed to be?"

Ben picks up his phone. "70's and sunny."

"Thanks," she says, choosing a shirt and a pair of jeans to wear. She lets her towel fall to the floor and hears a low growl coming from the bed. Yes, she's teasing him. Yes she's kind of hoping he'll just come over and bend her over her dresser. No, she does not feel guilty about it at all.

The thought reminds Leslie to take her pill.

When  she looks back at him, the book is closed and he's sitting up staring at her.

"So," she says, the heat of his gaze burning her skin. She wonders how long he's looked at her like this, and why she never noticed before.

 xxx 

 

JJ's is crowded but they're seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant. Neither of them look at the menus. They don't look anywhere  but each other. Ben holds her hand and it's as if no one else exists and there's waffles so it's as close to perfect as it gets.  

Which is why when his phone rings, Leslie isn't surprised.Something was bound to break the bubble, she just didn't think it would be so soon.

"So when you say sick you mean she has a hangover right?" He rolls his eyes. "Look, I'm at breakfast with my girlfriend so-"

Leslie's not sure what Ben says next, as she's too busy trying to resist the urge to grab someone by the arm and say, "Did you hear that? I'm his girlfriend."

There's a pause and Ben rubs his hand over his face. "Yeah ok I'll be there." He hangs up and shoots Leslie an apologetic smile.

"I have to go to work."

"Oh," Leslie says, frowning even though her heart is doing flip flops. "That blows."

"I know," Ben says, pulling out his wallet."I was supposed to have day off too. From both jobs. I was looking forward to spending the day with you." His tone makes it impossible not to catch his meaning. Desire floods through Leslie. She wants to blame it on being an omega, but the truth is it's all Ben.

It's all she can do not to attack him in the middle of JJ's. She settles for taking his hand as they walk out of the diner to his car.

"Me too."

"But," Ben says, taking her other hand  into his, "I have tonight free if you want-"

"I want," she says. God does she want.

"Great." He leans in to kiss her. It's not long before the soft brush of lips becomes something more and Leslie finds herself against Ben's Saturn, his hands under her shirt.

"Fuck." His voice is a low rumble against her neck.

"Yes please."

"Good lord," he says, smiling. "Okay we better go."

He doesn't though. He stays exactly where he was, kissing her so slow and deep his hands pushing against her skin.

"You're going to be late," she says, even though she doesn't want him to go. She wants him to take her back to his room and fuck her lights out.

"Yeah, but you're pretty and I like your freckles."

"Yeah?" She's floating again.

"Yeah. And your nose," he says, pushing it with his finger. "And your eyes are my favorite shade of blue. And I like this curl." He takes it and wraps it around his finger. "And you smell like-"

Whatever Ben's about to say is interrupted by his phone. He curses and answers. "Yeah, I get it. I'm coming. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Leslie stares at his butt, enjoying the sight of it until he walks around the car to the drivers side. He pauses though, before opening the door.

"You could come with me."

"Come with you?" Leslie asks, opening her door. "I'm not sure your boss will like if you bring me to work. I might distract you."

"Yeah, because sitting on a stool reading comics all day is totally work," Ben says, rolling his eyes and finally getting in his car, Leslie following suit. "And you'll definitely distract me. Plus my boss will love you."

Leslie's pretty sure there's more to it than that. "I don't want to impose."

"Come on," he says, smirking."It'll be fun. You can debate them about which Robin's the best."

Their eyes meet, lips forming a thin line. "One, two, three!" Leslie counts, before shouting "Dick Grayson!"

"Jason Todd!" He frowns. "Really? Grayson?"

"Yes, Grayson," Leslie says, crossing her arms over her chest. Ben blinks and he leans down, even closer.

This, without a doubt, the hottest conversation she's ever had about Batman in her life.

"Favorite Joker. On the count of three."

"One," she counts, "two, three."

They say Mark Hamill's name at the same time and Ben sighs."Oh thank god. I would hate for this relationship to get off to a bad start."

 xxx 

 

"So," Garth says, tapping his fingers on the counter."Ben said he brought you in here last night. Did he show you my original number one issue of the X-Men?"

"No," Leslie replies, "I'm not really into the X-men though. I'm more of a Batman girl."

Garth nods, and for a minute he looks sad, as if hearing Leslie doesn't like the X-men has crushed his spirit but the his face brightens and he kind of ops. "Oh, oh, then you should see something. Wait right here."

Leslie watches as Garth retreats. "He's nice," she says to Ben.

He smirks and shakes his head. "I'm pretty sure he's going to ask you to marry him."

Leslie rolls her eyes and bumps Ben's shoulder with hers. "You know you were right. This was fun."

Ben smiles back at her, and for a minute Leslie gets lost in his eyes, forgetting where he is until someone huffs and says, "You're not about to make out are you? 'Cause I want to pay for my comic and I can take my business elsewhere."

"Sorry," Ben says, not sounding very sorry at all as he takes the man's money."

"Don't listen to him," a woman with her grandson says. "I think young love is beautiful. How long have you two been together?"

Leslie looks to Ben, hoping he'll answer, because really she's not sure exactly how long they've been together either. Since this morning? Since last night?

Ben just smiles at the old lady. "Long enough to know I'm going to keep her."

"Aww," Leslie and the woman say together.  And to think yesterday he was the guy she had a ridiculous crush on.

"That's quite a shiner on your eye," the woman continues, "did you get into a fight defending her honor?"

Ben laughs as Leslie's skin turns a violent shade of red. "Something like that," he answers before looking at the Sandman comic her grandson's getting. "Good choice, dude."

The kid gives Ben a shy smile. "Thanks."

Ben hands the kid the sack and his grandmother the receipt. "Thanks for coming in."

"Thank you," she replies, winking at Ben before taking her grandson out of the store.

"You're really good at this," Leslie says, "It's really hot."

She's pretty sure she can say he's hot. He is her boyfriend now. Her alpha.

"Okay, I found it," Garth says, panting as he comes back to the counter, placing a thick heather grey hoodie on top of it. "It's a Batman hoodie. I bought it for myself but it's too small and the guy won't take it back so I want you to have it."

"Dude," Ben says. All Leslie can do is stare at the hoodie, because while the gesture is weird, it is really cute.

"I can't," Leslie says, wanting to pout just a little as Ben's fingers find hers, squeezing. "Thank you though."

Garth shakes his head. "Stupid Ebay."

Ben sighs, combing his fingers through his hair. "Okay, how much was it?"

"Forty five plus twenty for shipping and handling."

"You paid sixty five for that?" Ben asks, eying the hoodie. "Seriously?"

"It's limited edition."

Ben rolls his eyes. "Fine. I'll give you forty for it and I'll come in Tuesday morning and help you stock the new merchandise."

For a minute Leslie fears Garth will say no, but instead he throws his arms around Ben, hugging him tight before hugging Leslie.

She thinks back at the displays of violence she's seen alphas make when other people touch their mates, and maybe it's because Garth is a beta, but Ben doesn't seem bothered at all. He just gives Garth some money out of his wallet when he finally lets go of her.

 xxx 

 

"I had fun today," Leslie says as they enter her room. She's full on tacos, she's wearing her new Batman hoodie, her boyfriend is super hot, it's truly been a perfect day.

"Me too," Ben says, pushing Leslie against the door, lips crushing hers.  She melts against him, hands pulling on his shirt. He steps back, pulling the t- shirt off before kissing her again, his own hands finding their way up Leslie's sides.

"Get this off you," Ben says, taking the hoodie and t- shirt off. "God look at you."

"Are you going to look at me all day or are you going to kiss me?"

Ben's lips curl, eyes becoming black with lust. "Oh, I'm going to do a lot more than just kiss you, Leslie Kno-" His phone rings, right on cue. "Fuck. I swear with my luck it'll be Jenn wanting me to come in," he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. His expression softens though as he looks at the caller id. "Hey, Steph. Guess what-"

Leslie can't make out the words but she can make out Steph's panic. She watches, unsure of at to do as Ben paces the floor. Feeling like she should at least put her shirt back on, she bends down to pick it up just as he yells, "What do you mean Henry's gone?"

She drops the shirt, startled and confident this isn't a conversation she should be hearing, but the moment she goes to open her door Ben walks over and shuts it with his hand.

"Well, what about dad?" he asks, taking Leslie by her hand and leading over to the bed here she sits down next him.

Right. She's his mate and he needs her.

"Okay," he says, calmer than before. Much calmer than she feels. "Go spend the night at a friends house tonight and I'll try to find Henry or Dad. Okay?"

He hangs up after saying, "I love you," and drops his phone on the bed. "Fuck. I have to go to Minnesota."

"Okay. I'll go with you."

"Um, no," Ben says, standing up."Leslie, I like you a lot and I want this to work out so there is no way I'm dragging you into my family's mess."

"I'm going," Leslie repeats, standing too. "You need me and I'm going and that's all there is to it."

"What about school? Or your job?"

"What about yours?"

"I-" Ben sighs. "I-"

She takes his hands into hers. "I want to go. I don't have any tests and I can email my professors my homework. It'll be fine. Besides, you're more important."

He bites his lip, as if to to keep from smiling. "What am I going to do with you"

"Take to me to Minnesota," Leslie answers, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Please."

She kisses Ben, hoping that will convince him.

"Yeah. Okay. Be ready in an hour."

He hugs her goodbye and she runs to her closet to get her overnight bags. A part of does feel crazy for abandoning her responsibilities to go on a spontaneous road trip with a guy she just started dating, but Ben isn't just some guy. He's her alpha. Her mate.

And that makes all the difference.


End file.
